Black Final Girls
Sometimes, the last female standing is a sistah with unmatched finesse.
by Tracie Reddick
Carol Clover called them Final Girls, a term she coined in her book, Men, Women and Chainsaws (1992) and later in her 1997 article, Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.
Both provided commentaries about the horror heroines who broke the slasher subgenre’s bimbo mold.
I’m talking about Sally (Texas Chainsaw Massacre — 1974), Laurie (Halloween — 1978), Nancy (A Nightmare on Elm Street — 1984) and Sydney (Scream — 1996).
And don’t forget about Jerilyn (Demon Knight — 1995), Maggie (13 Ghosts — 2001), Selena (28 Days Later — 2006) and Jenn (Sweetheart (2019)?
Yep, black women are repping a spot in horror’s elusive female survivor’s club, too.
It wasn’t an easy task considering they are usually the first ones targeted to die and are typically killed with extreme prejudice.
Don’t get it twisted. Final Girls are not to be confused with slayers like Sanna Lathan in Alien v. Predator (2004), who are designated killing machines.
Nor are they villains like Olunike Adeliyi (Lacey) in She Never Died (2019).
They are the distressed damels who took a wrong turn, ended up at the last house on the left, put their big girl panties on and subsequently defeated the chainsaw wielding, mask-wearing maniacs or supernatural entities.
For black women, this shift came a decade after Sissy (Renee Jones) got her head twisted off in Jason Lives (1986).
It all started after Ernest Dickerson cast Jada Pinkett Smith as Jerilyn in a Tales from the Crypt saga dubbed Demon Knight (1995).
By definition, Jada qualifies as a Final Girl since she was the sole survivor in Demon Knight — but is she, really?
Final Girls are defined as perceptive women who fight their way out of perilous situtations.
So, some may argue she is not deserving of a title she earned by default.
After all, everyone died so Jerilyn could live to become the new guardian of the gate preventing demons from entering our world.
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Technicality or not, I give Jada her props since it was the first time a black woman survived the mayhem of a mainstream horror movie.
But, make no mistake. There’s no questioning Rah Digga’s role as Maggie in 13 Ghosts (2001), another film ushering in a trend where black woman in horror films lived to tell.
She killed it as a nanny of a family who inherited a haunted house and are forced to fight the lost souls inhabitating the place. Who knew the brass rapper had comedic chops.
Then there’s Lupita Nyongo, who like Jada, is another head scratcher.
Yeah, her character, Sam, made it to the end credits in A Quiet Place: Day One (2024). But, clearly she had a death wish that was finally fulfilled by the aliens coming in for the off screen kill at the conclusion.
So, again is she truly a badass? You tell me.
Cuz if that’s the case, is Brandy included in the category, too. Although it was a supporting role, her character Karla did survive the Fisherman serial killer in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998).
Lapita’s role in Day One may not be clear cut, but her dual role in Jordan Peele’s Us (2019) does place her in the Final Girl category.
She battled herself as a villian named Red. But, the honor comes in her role as Adeline, the mama who didn’t take no mess when it came to her family, thus allowing them to survive the clutches of deadly doppelgangers.
No doubt about it, horror newcomer, Dawanda Wise (Jessica), fought her way to the sole survivor list by battling a possessed teddy bear in Imaginary (2024).
After returning to her childhood home, Jessica quickly discovered her furry friend had abandonment issues and was seeking to exact revenge. However, she managed to keep his filthy paws off her.
Naomie Harris is the type of machete-wielding, sistah soldier you wanna see in a Final Girl. Her character Selena in 28 Days Later (2006) was unforgettable in this groundbreaking zombie film where she spectacularly kicked the asses of the infected and macho men alike.
Kiersey Clemmons (Jenn) not only thrived after a ship wreck left her stranded on an island in Sweetheart (2019), home-girl survived the sea beast stalking her and others. too.
She ranks right up there with Naomie as the ultimate, black, warrior woman whose changing the end game when it comes to Final Girls in horror films.
Move over, Selena and Jenn, make room for Frida. Naomi Ackie was amazing as the take-down titan in Blink Twice (2024). Not sure why this film didn’t get the accolades it deserved, but the storyline and entire cast were outstanding. Kudos to Naomi for her role as fearless Frida and to Zoe Kravitz for giving the Final Girl a fresh makeover.
